Truck market appears steady

By Categories: NewsPublished On: Wednesday 10 January 2018

With the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders no longer issuing prompt and detailed new truck registration, it is increasingly difficult to report on the state of the new truck market.

Towards the end of last year, Robin Easton, the managing director of UK market leader DAF, reported that expected new truck registrations in the six-tonne-plus sector would be of around 44,000: similar to 2016’s figure.

He said that the market was split 70/30 between rigids and tractors, and 70 per cent of registrations would be of trucks of over 16-tonnes gross weight. DAF had a market share of approximately 30 per cent.

Claes Jacobsson, Scania’s managing director, said the market for trucks of over 16 tonnes was expected to be 35,760 units in 2017. Scania was UK market leader in both tractor and tipper sectors, but demand for tippers had fallen by 13 per cent from 2016.

However, there had been a marked increase in orders for tippers from non-fleet customers in November, indicating a return in confidence in the construction sector.